Our Workplace Relations lawyers recently acted for a client in proceedings before the NSW Industrial Relations Court brought by WorkCover NSW.
WorkCover charged our client with a breach of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 following the death of a worker in 2009.
The worker was electrocuted when he worked on a live installation contrary to the client’s instructions. In the proceedings, the client pleaded guilty to the charge that he failed to ensure that employees performing electrical work were not exposed to live electrical current. The maximum penalty that could have been imposed on our client was $55,000.00. In imposing a fine of $9,000.00, the Court took account of the extensive submissions made on behalf of our client that focussed on his experience in the history, his good safety record, his positive approach to safety generally and other factors that assisted in significantly reducing the fine that may have been imposed otherwise.